Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with bookstores

How to read at minimum cost

Polychrome — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 05:31:36 -0800

What are some non-pretentious used bookstores in London? I'm looking for the sort of second-hand bookshops that aren't full of rare, out of print, hard to find or necessarily obscure texts; I simply want a bookshop full of readable books that have been discarded by their previous owners and so are marked down to a reasonable used-book price. I can currently find this sort of material online (amazon, for example, has sellers who sell super cheap used editions of currently in print editions of books) but would like the instant gratification of purchasing used books in person. The sort of things I look for are generally in print and are contemporary non-fiction or literature. I'm having trouble finding shops that meet these criteria in London (I'll go anywhere but central and south are most convenient); does anyone have any recommendations?

Bookstores: Is it ok to read merchandise you're not going to buy in the bookstore's cafe?

capitalist.pig — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:16:35 -0800

Bookstores: Is it ok to read merchandise you're not going to buy in the bookstore's cafe? As an avid reader, I visit my local Borders and Barnes and Noble a lot. I often notice people reading books and magazines in the store's cafe (usually a Starbuck's). Is this ok to do if you have no intention of buying what you're reading? Is it frowned upon? Are you only supposed to do this with merchandise you've already bought? Do you do it?

I'm curious what the etiquette is on this.

Toronto to Tijuana: 7500km of bookstores and indie events

DecemberRaine — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 09:24:01 -0800

My husband and I are planning a cross-countries, 7500km road trip to promote the book which he has just finished, currently seeking publishers (he will be self-publishing if it isn't picked up before we are set to leave). We are seeking contact info of book stores, events, independent media outlets and any other venues where book signings, readings or vending would be appropriate. (cities and book info after the cut) The book is anecdotal and autobiographical with anarchist roots, focussed on the intersection of Metaphysics, Politics and Journalism. We are planning to attend events like the Esoteric Book Conference in Seattle and the EsoZone Unconference in Portland, but would also be interested in festivals, street fairs, free schools and other public-speaking venues, etc. - particularly those with an anarchist/activist, occult/pagan/spiritual, or newsmedia slant. We would also be interested in independent booksellers who we can contact about carrying the title and hosting readings/signings.

Here is the list of cities currently on our tour of Canada and the West Coast USA. If you know of places in other cities in or around these areas, feel free to suggest them as well!

Toronto
Thunder Bay
Winnipeg
Regina
Calgary
Edmonton
Vancouver
Seattle
Portland
Eugene
Sacramento
San Francisco
(possible Las Vegas)
Los Angeles
San Diego
Tijuana (and from here, on through Mexico, continuing South towards Costa Rica)

Also, on the travel side of things, we will be making this road-trip in our camper-van with a limited initial budget, so any suggestions on safe, free places to park overnight that won't get us hassled by the local fuzz would be greatly appreciated. Feel free to suggest general places-of-interest to visit on our route, particularly places out-in-the-wild like hot springs, hiking trails, or other "places of power".

Help our bookclub find a place to meet.

Ash3000 — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 10:42:19 -0800

Trying to find a good venue for a book club in NYC to meet - a coffeeshop or independent bookstore would be ideal, but certainly not necessary. The only real considerations are that it be public, not super-packed on Wednesday nights when we meet, and a place where we can either purchase or bring a bottle of wine - more inside. For our test meeting a few weeks ago, we tried Tea Spot in Greenwich Village. Tea Spot is a lovely, quietish place for crumpets and conversation, but some opined that we might be better off with a place where we could purchase or bring a bottle of wine, perhaps a sort of Plato's-Symposium type deal, or a place that requires less scouting out a table beforehand (it was fairly packed.)

A perfect example of what we're looking for would be Think Coffee in the Village, except it's super-packed at any given time and probably not the most conducive to discussion. Any suggestions overall - perhaps a really nice independent bookstore that deserves our patronage and would provide a table, and maybe discounted books? Or maybe a coffeeshop with more than just coffee?

I'm happy to answer any other questions about the group - thanks!

Good Toronto bookstores?

cows of industry — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:21:24 -0800

I will be traveling through Toronto (from Detroit area) on the way to Muskoka soon and I am looking for some good bookstores in the region. I am interested in everything, but I really have a yen for good mystery and crime fiction. Any ideas?

How to buy a book early

headlessagnew — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:48:30 -0800

I'm headed out of the country for three weeks, and I'd like to buy the new Neal Stephenson book a few days in advance of its release. So next week the new Neal Stephenson book -- "Anathem" -- is being released. I am headed overseas for about three weeks, and I'd really like to save a cubic foot or so in my carry-on for this book. Unfortunately, my flight leaves on Saturday!

My question to you, Metafilter: is there any hope of buying this book a few days early? (It'd have to be Friday.) Pertinent details: I live in Palo Alto, CA, and I am willing to drive around to snag it. How would I go about persuading somebody to break the sell-date? Any place in specific I should try?

Thanks!

Help me sell my used academic books for a good price.

anotherpanacea — Thu, 29 May 2008 07:28:30 -0800

Where can I find a used bookstore that will buy gently used academic books in the DC-Baltimore-Northern Virginia area? I am generally a bibliophile happy to amass books and more books, but my partner has issued an ultimatum. Thus, I have about six boxes of academic books that I can do without to preserve domestic tranquility. They are generally the very thing that fashionable young grad students in the humanities would snatch up. Also, I have a box of graphic novels that I can no longer defend as remaining in touch with my inner child. Assuming I want to avoid piecemeal sales on Ebay, where can I/should I sell them?

Best downtown Toronto bookstores

storybored — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:38:06 -0800

I'll be in downtown Toronto early next week with some free time - what are the best bookstores downtown for browsing?

Where to buy porn whilst in Brooklyn?

Anonymous — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 20:28:07 -0800

Are there any good adult bookstores in NYC outside of Manhattan? (By "adult bookstore" I mean a place that sells porn along with other "intimate" products)

I shouldn't have to go to Manhattan every time I have to stock up on kink. I have searched the yellow pages for things like "adult bookstore" in New York and come up with nothing aside from the Village. The problem seems to be that each of these places categorizes themselves differently, if at all, and don't have a web presence. (One store I already know about shows up in the yellow pages without any categorization.)

Anything in Brooklyn would be great.

Where can I find the best old books in Denver?

reenum — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:30:25 -0800

Looking for good used bookstores in Denver.... The girlfriend and I will be making a round of the used bookstores in Denver on Saturday. Are there any bookstores or book sales not to be missed on that day?

Thanks!

Peace

skjønn — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:55:30 -0800

Left-wing/radical/hippie/communist/revolutionary bookstores and places in DC. I'm going to DC with my very conservative family for the next 6 days, however, I'll have opportunity to have an afternoon or two to myself hopefully.

Looking for names and places of left-wing /radical/hippie/communist/revolutionary bookstores in Washington DC I can go to. Ideally pick up a few souveneirs, some books, chat with some like minded folks. I'm espescially interested in black panther books/posters/buttons.

Thanks!

Used bookstores in Israel

greenmagnet — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 14:03:55 -0800

I'll be travelling to Israel in several months, and have a couple of questions that I can't seem to find answers for: where to find good used bookstores, and whether it's possible to visit an Orthodox home for Shabbat dinner. First, does anyone have suggestions of good used bookstores to visit? I can read Hebrew and am particularly interested in religious books, but any used bookstore information would be helpful. I will be in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, where I assume most bookstores would be, although any locations would be fine as I'll be travelling throughout the country over a couple of weeks. I found this, but it only has 4 bookstores listed for Israel, so I'm hoping for further suggestions.

Second, I have read, somewhere, that it is possible to arrange somehow to visit an Orthodox home for Shabbat dinner. Unfortunately I don't remember where I read that or any more details. Is that true, and do you know how I would go about doing that? If it matters, I am not Jewish, but would be very much interested in experiencing that if it is indeed possible.

Along the same lines, I would like to visit an Orthodox synagogue. Any suggestions relating to this would be very much appreciated.

Thank you very much for any help you can give.

Best bookstores in NYC?

theinsectsarewaiting — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 06:15:14 -0800

Where are the best book stores in NYC? Dedicated bibliophile heading to New York - I've been told about The Strand, but I'm also interested in smaller, specialized stores, preferably with a soft spot for poetry. Have also heard rumours of a poetry library...

Where to shop in San Francisco?

meerkatty — Sun, 25 Dec 2005 16:53:57 -0800

I'm going to be in San Francisco for three days at the end of the month - looking for specific shopping advice. Where to find stores that sell Original Penguin, great bookshops (apart from City Lights), neat boutique stores like Newbury St. in Boston, antiques, any great markets...

What is there hidden in downtown and on the outskirt's of Seattle

goalyeehah — Wed, 21 Sep 2005 15:20:23 -0800

I'm visiting Seattle for a week in October and am looking for off-the-path places to hang out: used bookstores, blues clubs, coffeehouses, esoterica and erotica. I also want to find a museum that has a large collection of Dale Chihuly pieces. I can negotiate the Downtown area pretty well and know that there are more places in the outlying areas. I will be staying with a friend just north of U of W.
Cool independent bookshops would be premium, similar to those near Powell's in Portland, full of Codrescu, Anti-Bush texts and sexual comics. Also coffee houses that have spirit and good, cheap food hangouts.

Best used bookstore in Seattle?

agropyron — Mon, 11 Apr 2005 19:47:48 -0800

What's the best used bookstore in Seattle? I know we aren't going to have the equivalent of Powell's, but even Anchorage has a really nice used bookstore (Title Wave) with a huge selection.

I'd like to know which bookstores:
* Have the largest/best selection
* Give the most cash/trade for books, and accept the most books

These traits might be found in different bookstores, and that's fine. I tried Half Price books, and they offered very little in credit. I tried Twice Sold Tales after reading about it in Skot's blog, but they didn't want about 85% of my books. (Nice cats though.)

Bonus q: Where do you sell your used CDs?

Why aren't libraries and bookstores arranged by the same system?

pieoverdone — Tue, 21 Sep 2004 05:15:28 -0800

Why aren't libraries and bookstores arranged by the same system? I realize it may make me a plebe, but B&N is more easily navigable than the library. Credit goes to SLPL's unintuitively designed card catalog for inspiration.

Graphic novel shopping in the Bay Area

kk — Mon, 13 Sep 2004 09:03:02 -0800

What store in the Bay Area has the best selection of graphic novels? I've done the Borders thing.

Glasgow-bound

grimley — Wed, 25 Aug 2004 16:00:37 -0800

GlasgowFilter: I am going to that fine city in a couple of days for my sister's wedding. Looking for any good book/record/vintage shops in town, as well as any not to be missed modern architecture (outside of Charles Rennie Mac). Ta much.

Russian magazines available still?

RavinDave — Sun, 18 Jul 2004 00:39:03 -0800

Anyone ever hear of < ctacb>> Magazine? This was publisher Stas Namin's eponymous magazine on Russian life and culture; a gorgeous monthly (printed in Russian) that I used to get through the local Barnes & Noble. They suddenly dropped it with no explanation. I'm curious: did it go out of business? Is there any other US outlets? I'd love to subscribe. Okay ... Front Page screwed up the formatting. What I saw in preview wasn't what I got after "submit".

The name of the magazine was: CTACb

(ie: "Stas")